'Haters' want Congress to work

Journalist Michael Kinsley once defined a political gaffe as when someone "accidentally reveals something truthful about what is going on in his or her head." In other words, a gaffe is when a political player accidentally tells the truth. This appears to be what happened in a recent Washington Post story.

Tens of millions of Americans disapprove of the way both Republicans and Democrats in Congress are doing their jobs. According to the hometown paper for America's political class, this makes them "Haters."

You read that right.

According to the Post's view of the world, there are now three teams in American politics: those who approve of Democrats, those who approve of Republicans and the Haters. This is how the paper officially labeled people like me, even as it notes that we're a "significant and growing share of the electorate."

This wasn't just a casual reference by a lazy journalist. Not only did the paper of the political elite produce tables and graphics with the "Haters" label; they wrote an entire article about how "Haters Gonna Hate."

It's hard to find anybody who would disagree with the group's perspective of Congress. We're talking about a Congress that can't produce a budget, but did produce an unworkable health care law. Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress think it's OK for the National Security Agency to read our emails and listen to our phone calls. Both parties are comfortable with crony capitalism and happy to steer sweetheart deals to their friends and allies.

Even worse, election practices that protect incumbents mean that 90 percent of us have absolutely no say who "represents" us in Congress. We are simply assigned to a congressman or woman who cares little about what we think.

Given those realities, people who disapprove of both parties in Congress might best be described as realistic or pragmatic.

Those of us who disapprove of both parties in Congress are simply waiting for Congress to do something worthy of our approval.

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'Haters' want Congress to work

Journalist Michael Kinsley once defined a political gaffe as when someone 'accidentally reveals something truthful about what is going on in his or her head.' In other words, a gaffe is when a